Handle-equipped container



July 9, 1963 J- R. YOUNG HANDLE-EQUIPPED CONTAINER Filed 0G12. 11, 1960 @www A'r'rys.

United States Patent O 3,096,924 HANDLE-EQUIPPED CUNTAINER `lames R. Young, 913 Forsythe Ave., Toledo 5, Ohio Filed st. 11, 1960, Ser. No. 61,987 1 Claim. (Cl. 229--52) This invention relates to milk cartons.

One `object of this invention is to provide a milk carton having :a handle attached -to one side 1thereof to assist the user in pouring milk `from the carton land to prevent slippage and possible dropping of the carton.

Another object lis yto provide a milk carton of the `foregoing character wherein the handle is secured at its upper land lower ends 4to the canton and has foldable portions enabling the handle .to be folded flat against the carton, so that .the handleequipped carton of the present invention occupies substantially the same space as conventional cartons not equipped with such handles.

Other objects :and `advantages of 4the invention will become :apparent during the course `of the following description of the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE l is ia side elevation of a milk carton equipped with a foldable handle, according to one form of the invention, with the handle in its folded position;

FIGURE 2 is a rea-r elevation of the handleequipped carton lof FIGURE l, with the handle folded;

FIGURE 3 is ka side elevation similar to FIGURE '1, but with the handle in its unfolded position; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side `elevation of a modification of the invention, lshowing in solid lines the handle in its folded position .and in dotted lines the handle in its unfolded position.

H-itherto, milk cantons of waxed cardboard have come into common use and have -found ready acceptance with the buying public. In the use of such cartons, however, particularly in ,the two-quart sizes, the manipulation of the carton rfor pouring has been difhcult because of the bulk of :the carton, particularly for persons with small hands lor `short iinger-s. As a result, accidents have frequently occurred by ,the dropping of the carton as a result of its slipping from the grasp of the iingers, and accuracy of pouring has been difficult even when such slippage has not occurred. Separate holders have previously `been provided 4for receiving such cartons, but have not come into general acceptance by the public because of the inconvenience of having to look for a holder every .time a carton of milk was to be used. The present invention eliminates these disadvantages by providing a milk carton with a built-in folding handle which when not in `use folds flatly against :the side of the carton so as to occupy substantially no more space than a carton not equipped with such .a handle.

Referring to the drawings in detail, FIGURES 1 to 3 inclusive show a handle-equipped milk carton, generally designated lit, according to one `form of the invention, as consisting generally of a receptacle unit 12 and a foldable handle unit 14 secured thereto. The receptacle unit 12 is of vertically-elongated box-shaped form with front and rear walls 16 and 18 interconnected by lateral walls 20 `and by a bottom wall 22. The walls i6, 18 and 20 are interconnected at their upper ends by a top structure, generally designated 24. The top structure 24 consists of slantin-g lateral upper top walls 26 and 28 integral with the lateral walls and interconnected by the overlap portion 30 `of the top wall 28 extending around the upstanding portion 32 ofthe top wall 26.

Disposed beneath lthe lateral upper top walls 26 and 28 and integral with the `front and rear walls 16 and 18 respectively are front and rear slanting lower top walls 34 and 36 respectively. The lower top wall 34 is movable from its slanting position shown in FIGURES l and 3 to a vertical pouring spout position (not shown) after 3,096,924 Patented July 9, 1963 ICC the user tears the adjacent part of the overlapping portion 30 :away from the upst-anding portion 32, as is known to those familiar with .this type of milk carton.

The foldable handle 14 consists of top and bottom tabs or upper `and lower attachment por-tions 38 and 40 respectively secured as by adhesives to the rear top wall 36 and the bottom wall 22 respectively, and an intermediate portion 42 extending upward from the bottom -tab 40 ata fold or hinge line 43 therebetween, and a reversely-bent connecting portion 44 interconnecting the yupper end of the intermedi-ate portion 42 and the lower end of the top tab 38 at fold lines or hinge lines 46 and 48 therebetween.

In the use .of the invention, when the carton 10` is packed in crates or in showcases or the like, or stored in refrigerators, 'the handle unit 14 is maintained in its folded position shown in FIGURES l `and 2 with its intermediate portion 42 folded fiat against the rear wall 18 of the carton unit 12. The upper part 58 of the intermediate handle portion `42 is then folded darete-face with the reversely-bent portion 44 at the hinge line 46. The intermediate handle portion 42 is normally maintained in this position either by .the natural adhesion of the waxed surfaces or by the use of an adhesive, preferably la pressure-sensitive adhesive. Such adhesives are well-known to those skilled in industry and available under various brand names on the open market.

To pour milk from the carton 10, the user exposes the spout portion or Vfront .top wall 34 in the usual way by tearing away a forward part of the overlap portion 3G land by thereafter pulling the front top wall 34 upward tinto lan 'approximately vertical position by a finger, fork or by other suitable means. By .the use of a fork or other suitable tool, or by the finger nails, the user then pulls the intermediate handle portion 4t2 from its face-ito-race yfolded position of FIGURE 1 to its unfolded position of FIGURE 3. During such unfolding, the handle portions 38 and 50 straighten out :at their hinge lines 48 .and 46, thereby providing .a space 52 between the rear carton wall 18 and the intermediate handle portion `42 for insertion of the finger. The carton unit 12 is then conveniently held between the thumb and lingers while the backs of the fingers or the back of the palm rest against the intermediate handle portion 42. Pouring can then be carried out precisely, without spilling the milk and without danger of slippage or dropping of the carton.

After pouring, the user may leave the handle unit 1'4 in its unfolded position of FIGURE 3, or he may fold it again into its folded position of FIGUREl l by pushing the intermediate handle portion 42 into facetoface engagement with the carton rear wall 18 by reversing the foregoing procedure.

The modified handle-equipped carton, generally desig- F nated 60, shown in FIGURE 4 includes a carton unit 62 similar in all respects to the carton unit 12 of FIGURES 1 to 3 inclusive and consequently having its component parts designated with the same reference numerals. The handle unit 64, however, is of slightly different construction in that it has top and bottom tabs 66 and 68 secured respectively to the top rear wall 36 and bottom wall 22 of the carton unit 62 and hinge lines 70 and 72 respectively, connecting them respectively to overlapping upper and lower intermediate portions 74 and 76. These are connected in 'overlapping relationship by a flexible connecting band 78. The connecting band 78 has an upper part 80 connected at a hinge line or fold line 82 to a re versely-bent part 84, the upper end of which is connected at a hinge or fold line 86 with the upper end of the lower portion 88 of the connecting band 78. The overlapping or reversely-bent portion 84 in the modification 60 of FIGURE 4 is thus located remote from both the upper 3 and lower fold lines yor hinge lines 70 and 712` respectively of the handle unit 64.

In the use of the modified handle-equipped milk carton 60 of FIGURE 4, the same general procedure as that described above is followed as in the use of the handleequipped milk carton 10` of FIGURES 1 to 3 inclusive. This procedure moves the intermediate handle portion 74 from its solid-line folded position to its dotted-line unfolded position shown in FIGURE 4. An adhesive may also be used to secure the intermediate handle portion 74 temporarily in its folded position, or the adhesive properties of the coating wax of the carton may be relied on for this purpose as described above. The handle unit 64 of the carton 60` may be restored to its folded position by reversing the foregoing procedure, causing the component parts to hinge or pivot around the hinge lines 70, `82., 86 and J72.

While the present invention has been described in connection with a milk carton, it is equally adaptable for use with other types of containers of whatever crosssection, whether rectangular or circular, and for solids as well as liquids. The invention, for example, may be used in connection with cereal containers to aid the user in pouring corn flakes or other cereals from the container.

The present invention is especially useful in containers which are bulky and heavy so as to be diicult to hold in the fingers. This is especially true where the container has been coated with a slippery waterprooiing material such as wax lor plastic which renders it easy to slip ont of the fingers.

To hold the handle temporarily in its folded position, a suitable adhesive, such as a conventional pressuresensitive adhesive, may be applied either to the inside of the handle, or to the adjacent portion of the container, or to both.

In the `operation of the invention, instead of inserting the hand between the Ihandle and the carton, as described above, the user may grasp the handle directly in his iin- 4 elongated vertically-disposed closed receptacle having a bottom wall, side walls and a top wall,

said top wall including an upper top Wall portion and a lower top wall portion disposed below sai'd upper top Wall portion and dening a recess beneath said upper top Wall portion; and an elongated vertically-disposed `foldable handle structure lraving at its lower end a lower attachment portion secured to said bottom wall,

said handle structure having an intermediate portion hingedly connected at its lower en'd to said lower attachment portion, said handle structure also having an upper attachment portion secured to said lower top wall portion within said recess, said handle structure also having a foldable connecting portion bent reversely to said intermediate portion and hingedly connected at its upper end to the upper end of said intermediate portion and hingedly connected at its lower end to said upper attachment portion, said connecting portion in the folded position of said handle structu-re lying beneath said upper top wall portion within said recess and swingable out of said recess into an extended position approximately aligned with said upper attachment portion, whereby inthe folded position of said handle structure said upper attachment portion and connecting portion lie within said recess within the contines of said side walls, said lower attachment portion lies beneath said bottom wall, and only said intermediate portion lies outside the contines of said side walls of said receptacie, namely in a position disposed flat against one of said side walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,434,359 Anand Nev. 7, 1922 2,236,681 Goldschmidt Apr, 1, 1941 2,522,049 Lang sept. 12, 1950 2,810,503 Krueger oct. 22, 1957 

